The Tree Spirit
by HounouNiTsubasa
Summary: On the outskirts of the royal city of Namimori, there is a small forest. The royal prince, Hibari Kyouya-sama, stormed into it when he was a child and met a forest spirit named Tsunayoshi. 1827 AU


Hiya! So this is my first ever fanfic, so please be understanding if it's really bad to you =/

As always, I got this from my muse when we were talking about the Chronicles of Narnia, and she commented on the forest spirits that told Edmund and the older brother (I forget his name) that the White Witch was coming.

Disclaimer: Do I really need to? Why bother to write about this here? If I were the owner, it'd be happening in the manga!

Summary: On the outskirts of the royal city of Namimori, there is a small forest. The royal prince, Hibari Kyouya-sama, stumbled into it when he was a child and met a forest spirit named Tsunayoshi.

oOo

Chapter One: The Meeting

Hibari had been told not to go into the forest for as along as he could remember by everyone he knew. The young prince never questioned this warning when he was younger, and always followed it. If all of the adults obeyed this strange, unspoken law, who was he to disobey? However, at the tender age of eight, he finally asked his father:

"Why should I not go into the forest?"

His father, engrossed with the morning's crossword puzzle in the daily newspaper, simply answered, "There is a dangerous spirit lurking in those woods. It has been there since the very beginning of the royal Hibari lineage here in Namimori."

"You said the spirit was dangerous. Does it mean the city of Namimori harm?" Tiny gray eyes narrowed in protective anger at the thought of a threat to his beloved city.

Taken aback by his son's sudden ferocity, the father slowly replied, "Well, the spirit has never actually made a known disturbance in Namimori itself. We're not even sure if it exists, but to be cautious, a warning had been issued to the residents a very long time ago. We just remind the citizens to stay away from the forest from time to time, for many reasons other than the spirit. And if it exists, we simply do not know what it wants." The King wanted to be careful with his choice of words. He recognized the possessive and protective glint in his son's eyes and didn't want to provoke any rash decision that might occur because of his youth.

"Then, I should investigate the spirit's motive for staying near Namimori."

Too late.

Sighing, the King resigned himself to what he knew his son would do. His son would stride into the forest in order to gauge how much malice is present in the spirit. He blamed his late wife for this possessiveness. The young prince had absolutely adored his mother. When the Queen had asked their dear son to watch over Namimori and its people before she died of illness two years ago, he became obsessed with her death wish. Hibari began carrying collapsible tonfas and patrolling the city whenever he could. His son even had a wonderful catchphrase:

"I will bite you to death."

Hence, the King was constantly worried. Despite the fact that he knew his son's capability to defend and punish, he wasn't so sure how effective a pair of tonfas would be on a malevolent spirit.

It was understood that sooner or later, Hibari would be going into the forest.

Unless, Hibari promised not to.

With the determination of a dying man, the King begged, "Kyouya, please, please, _please_ do not enter that forest with the intent of finding that spirit."

The young prince chewed the inside of his cheek in hesitation. He couldn't refuse his father, but he simply _had_ to know what the spirit's intentions were. What he needed was a loophole.

Ah.

A sly grin on his face, Hibari complacently replied, "Yes Father, I promise not to enter the forest with the intention of finding a spirit that may wreck havoc upon Namimori."

The King beamed. That was easier than he thought it would be. Usually, his son was so stubborn. Too stubborn, actually. He didn't detect any of Hibari's smirks. The King was just relieved that his son had agreed and was eager to resume his crossword puzzle.

Grinning, Hibari bid his father goodnight and took steps to exit the room. "Oh, Father," he added after he had paused, one hand holding onto the frame of a door on his way out, "I have a field trip tomorrow with my class so I won't be home at the usual time. I'm not bringing Kusakabe with me either."

"Mhm, okay son," the King absent-mindedly replied, scowling at the newspaper splayed in front of him.

Tomorrow Hibari would confirm whether or not there was a tree spirit and if it did exist, what it wanted with Namimori, if it wanted anything to do with the city at all.

oOo

The forest in which the spirit was rumored to have lurked in was situated on the higher grounds of Namimori's borderlines.

The young prince displayed no signs of exhaustion or hesitation that his classmates over exaggerated during the arduous trek upwards. Only a determined glint was present in his eyes. They were herbivores and he was a carnivore. Well, a young one, but he ate meat and despised vegetables. He held no sympathies for those who were acting faint and weak outdoors in order to garner the attentions of their teachers and chaperones.

As expected of the young prince.

"Ah, we've arrived," Hibari murmured, his eyes alive and sharp as he stared into the dense expanse of the forest. While the herbivores around him dropped onto medium sized rocks or on the dry, cracked earth in exhaustion, Hibari strolled restlessly around the edge of the forest. He was itching to go inside and begin his hunt, but the prospect of breaking the promise he had made to his father loomed overhead and restrained him.

The moment the class arrived at the edge of the forest, the wind began to blow, picking up leaves and swaying the majestic trees that towered over the tiny figures.

The young prince took the wind, which had been slowly increasing its velocity as they were standing there, as a challenge and said, "Wao…"

The herbivores, on the other hand, took this as a very bad sign. Some began to cower in fear and a girl even shrieked, "The spirit wants us gone!"

After a couple more minutes of hysterics, the adults managed to calm the children down. They began to lecture about the history of the Hibari family, during which many eyes flickered to the only Hibari there, and about the forest. They concluded their simple lecture half an hour later with a warning against entering the forest. Nineteen children nodded their heads in complete and utter agreement. One just stared at the forest passively, waiting for his chance.

The adults then began to gather the children to head back into town to eat. Eating lunch next to a creepy forest? No thank you.

As soon as Hibari noticed the eyes of the adults turn away from his general direction, he seized his chance. He quickly grabbed the attention of a herbivore that was closest to him and thrust a tonfa into the herbivore's arms. "Throw it into the forest as hard as you can," Hibari demanded, glaring at the confused herbivore.

"B-But!"

"Now!" The young prince hissed. "Or I'll bite you to death!"

The herbivore immediately paled. He had heard plenty of stories regarding a certain young prince and people being bitten to death. Not wanting to become the next victim, the herbivore hurled the tonfa as hard as he could into the forest and took off running after the rest of the class.

Hibari smirked as he stepped over the threshold and into the forest. He didn't enter with _any_ intentions of finding a spirit. He simply wanted to fetch his tonfa. His father said he couldn't enter the forest with the purpose of finding a spirit, but his father mentioned nothing about what he could and couldn't do after he was inside the forest. The young prince's blood boiled in anticipation.

Let the hunt begin.

oOo

The young prince had been striding along the forest path for quite some time. The trunks of the trees were larger the father in one went and roots composed most of the floor along with the humid and loose soil. The lighting was fairly shaded, and at the places where light peeked through the large and heavy branches were tinted a yellow green.

Hibari's suspicions of a vengeful spirit began to dissipate as he encountered nothing out of the ordinary. The birds were chirping, insects were bustling, and other small rodents were darting along the majestic floor of one beautiful forest.

Satisfied with what he found, or lack thereof, the young prince began to head back when he heard the small, but sharp and distinct crack of a twig. He whirled around, tonfas at the ready and said, "I know you're there. Come out now, and I won't bite you to death too harshly."

A small patch of spiky hair peeked out from around the large trunk of a tree not too far in front of Hibari. Chocolate caramel eyes soon followed suit and peered anxiously at the menacing young child. Relieved that it was only a child, he came out with a pleasant smile and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I-I'm sorry if I startled you!" he said shyly, twiddling his fingers.

Hibari thought that the man looked harmless, but he quickly discarded that thought. Dangerous intentions could be lurking underneath the most innocent of pretenses. Hibari himself was proof of that; he was cute and deadly. Calmly, with confidence and arrogance, the young prince stated, "I thought I ordered you to come out."

The person hiding behind the tree shivered as he noted the tone that escaped the cute face of the child. It was commanding and totally blew away any positive thoughts he had been having about the cuddly looking child. He hesitated before tentatively stepping out from behind his hiding spot.

Hibari watched the young man stumble out from behind the tree…

Only to fall flat on his face a second later.

Hibari raised an elegant eyebrow as he eyed a bare foot stuck in a root and a body splayed awkwardly out before him. The brunette was wearing a black, long-sleeved shirt with sleeves that had a tendency to slip from the shoulders. Underneath the shirt hid black short shorts that allowed the eye to roam over the expanse of creamy skin that his legs put on display. His feet were bare and looked smooth, yet there were no traces of dirt and they gave off every appearance of cleanliness.

"Ow…" the brown-haired boy moaned on the floor. He hated his clumsy nature. Not once had his accident prone nature benefited him. He'd been living in the forest all of his life, and he wasn't swinging from vines hanging down from enormous trees.

Suddenly remembering his visitor, he scrambled up and tilted his head. "U-Umm, my name is Tsunayoshi, but you can call me Tsuna! A-Are you perhaps lost? Ah! What's your name?" Tsuna stuttered.

"Spare me from your polite drivel," Hibari stated, the tone was cold and dead. He had found his prey and was no longer interested in games. Unlike whales with their penguin or seal dining habits, he refused to indulge himself in games when it concerned a matter that was important to him.

Tsuna tilted his head to the other side in confusion. Just what kind of a child was this? The kid before him had all the haughtiness of royalty and the voice of a conditioned killer. "Umm, I'm not sure I know what-"

"You're the spirit, are you not?" the young prince tilted his head in the perfect imitation of Tsuna as he interrogated him with is tonfas held shoulder-high and at the ready.

The color drained from Tsuna's face as he processed the words Hibari had just uttered. Now that he thought about it, wasn't there some edict that prohibited people from coming into the forest? Weren't most children afraid of spirits? Nervously, the brunette mumbled, "N-No, I'm not. I-I-I have n-no idea as to wh-what you're talking about."

A smirk spread on the predator's lips. He could smell the lie.

Frowning at the smirk that had blossomed on the child's face, Tsuna asked, "What are you even doing here? Shouldn't a kid like you be at home or something? Your parents must be worried. What's your name?"

"My name," the prince slowly enunciated with relish, "is Hibari Kyouya and I demand to know what your position is with the city of Namimori."

"H-Hibari…?" the name came out as a ghostly whisper. Tsuna froze. His eyes widened in fear and a slight tremble could be seen racking his body. He stumbled backwards and hid behind a large fern. Tsuna's eyes focuses in on the tonfas and cringed.

The young prince, of course, noted all of this, albeit with a bit of confusion. Foregoing the strange actions, he repeated "Yes, that's me. Do you plan for harm to befall the city of Namimori?"

The brunette snapped out of his stupor and gave a sad, but kind smile when he remembered that it was but a child that stood before him, baring his fangs for his precious city. The regal attitude, the last name, and the sheer fact that a child had ventured into the forest by himself reeked of royalty with a mission. "Rest assured, young prince, that I hold no ill-intentions towards your beloved city. It is simply my wish to continue living here without causing any disturbances," the brunette said, rising from behind the fern.

Tsuna took a couple of steps forward, and knelt in front of Hibari, his hands slowly reaching up to caress the pale, young cheeks of the young prince who had become as rigid as a piñata.

"You look just like him…" Tsuna whispered, his eyes filled with a deep longing. The dark hair was styled in the same manner as _his_. The steel tinted eyes were an exact replica of _his_. Those tonfas were held with the same precision and expertise as _he_ had held them. Nostalgia swept over the brunette in crashing waves and he wanted nothing more than to relive those days with _him_.

Hibari couldn't move. Those eyes enchanted him. They enthralled him. There was just such a strong feeling beaming from behind those caramel eyes; it was overwhelming. He was drowning in eyes that said so much with one, wordless glance.

Normally, he would feel repulsed at any contact with another person, besides his father. However, this touch was so gentle and soothing that he actually leaned into it. Hibari had to fight to keep his eyes from closing and purring like a cat. Those hands were similar to his mother's soft strokes to his hair when she was tucking him in at night. He couldn't help but accept the touch.

The young prince was abruptly taken aback when Tsuna gracefully stood up and patted his head. "I'll escort you to the edge of the forest, okay?" Without waiting for a reply from the young prince, the spirit grabbed Hibari's hand and tugged him into the direction of Namimori.

A bit clumsily, Hibari followed in a dazed manner. He was unable to do much of anything as he remembered the bright and mournful eyes.

oOo

Kusakabe stood outside of the forest with his finest platoon of men and dogs. He grimly remembered panicked teachers flocking to the imperial city's police headquarters and crying about a missing prince. Kusakabe had immediately sent a messenger to the palace to notify the King and organized a search party. He began to pace as he waited for the weather report. If conditions were going to put his men at risk then he was obligated by the law to turn back. The winds were becoming quite aggressive as the sun sank beneath the horizon.

Kusakabe abruptly stopped when he spotted two shadows coming out of the dense shadows of the leaves and trunks. His men tensed and readied their weapons, but the dogs remained relaxed. Relief erupted on his face when he spotted the young prince, but instantly changed to suspicion when he saw a young, brown haired man accompanying his young prince.

Tsuna stopped where the tips of the leaves of the forest did. Smiling, he said, "This is as far as I am willing to go, Hibari-sama. I can see that your men are uneasy but they are here to escort you home, nonetheless. Have a pleasant trip back home." Tsuna released his grip on Hibari's hand and politely bowed. With a cheery wave, the spirit turned his back on the mass of people at the edge of the forest and briskly walked back into the heart of the forest.

Hibari disliked it when Tsuna had said his name so formally. He wanted to hear the spirit call him by his first name. He disliked it even more when the contact between their hands had been severed. The young prince stared after the tree spirit's back and continued to gaze unfalteringly into the direction he last saw the brunette.

"Tsunayoshi," the prince murmured, enjoying the way the name rolled off of the tip of his tongue.

Snapping out of his stupor once he heard Kusakabe's rapidly approaching footsteps, Hibari swiftly turned around, and barked, "Let's go."

"B-But-"

"I said, let's go," the young prince growled, indicating that he was not about to repeat himself. He strode past Kusakabe into the streets of Namimori with the best of his royal guards trailing after him, speechless and worried.

Now, he had a bigger opponent to worry about.

Now, he had to worry about a man he called 'Father.'

oOo

Well? How was it? Dx I'm not crazy for reviews, but it'd be awfully nice of you to review ;~;

If someone or myself thinks that this is a no good story, then I'll stop x.x;


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